Onward! One Messr. McCombs—as in Cass McCombs—could never be accused of being a cooperative interview subject, but we talked to him anyway. Did we get any pithy quotes or bon mots? Not exactly. Good thing his music speaks for itself.LISTEN:

Cass McCombs - "Robin Egg Blue"

Onward! McCombs' former producer, Jason Quever, also releases records under the name Papercuts. The lovely pop music he creates also speaks for itself, but he was significantly more cooperative in the interview department.LISTEN:

Papercuts - "Do What You Will"

Onward! You won't catch Christian Mistress twiddling on the Twitter or updating on the Tumblr. Instead, the Olympia band spends its time making passionate heavy metal—and heavy metal passionate.LISTEN:

Christian Mistress - "Agony and Opium"

Onward! You pronounce the "ocote" like this: "Oh-coat-eh." And you pronounce Ocote Soul System's striking, original Latin-Afrobeat hybrid like this: "Oh, coat-YAY!" (Ugh. Sorry. What we mean to say is that it's very, very good.)LISTEN: